Stringed instrument with message display
A message display system for a stringed instrument comprises a plurality of bridge pins, each bridge pin being formed with a top surface marked with indicia. The top surfaces with indicia are viewable when the a plurality of bridge pins are installed into a bridge of the instrument, and the bridge pins are arranged to display a message to a viewer. Trademarks, band names and short political or personal messages may be displayed. The indicia formed on the bridge pins are not limited to those of the Latin alphabet. The text and symbols of other writing systems or languages, for example, Japanese, Arabic, Chinese, or Korean, may be formed on the bridge pins. For beginner guitar players, the bridge pins may be used to mark the names of the strings (e.g. E A D G B E).
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to stringed musical instruments, and more particularly, to a stringed musical instrument such as a guitar having a system for displaying messages incorporated into the bridge pins of the instrument.
2. Background of the Invention and Description of Related Art
As best shown in
In conventional stringed musical instruments that employ bridge pins, the exposed top surfaces 8 of the pins are generally unmarked. Alternatively, the top surfaces may have a contrasting circular inlay usually made from plastic, abalone or mother of pearl for decorative purposes. The top surfaces are in plain view of anyone looking at the guitar, and the present invention is directed to a message display arrangement located on the exposed top surfaces of the pins.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention provides a message display system that can be used to conveniently and prominently display a message such as a trademark, word or logo on the surface of the pins.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a message display system for a stringed instrument comprising:
-
- a plurality of bridge pins, each bridge pin being formed with a top surface marked with indicia, the top surface with indicia being viewable when the bridge pin is installed into a bridge of the instrument, and the bridge pins being arranged to display a message to a viewer.
The present invention also provides a kit for displaying a message on a stringed instrument comprising:
a plurality of bridge pins, each bridge pin being formed with a top surface marked with indicia;
wherein the bridge pins are installable into a bridge of the instrument by a user to display a desired message by the indicia on the exposed top surfaces of the pins.
In a further aspect, the present invention provides a method for displaying a message on a stringed instrument comprising:
providing bridge pins, each bridge pin being formed with a top surface marked with indicia; and
installing one or more bridge pins into a bridge of the instrument such that the top surfaces with indicia are viewable to display a message to a viewer.
The stringed instrument may be a guitar including an acoustic guitar. Other stringed instruments such as a banjo, classical guitar, bazooki or ukulele can also be fitted with message display system of the present invention. Any stringed instrument that relies on bridge pins to hold the strings is place can use the message display of the present invention.
Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures.
Aspects of the present invention are illustrated, merely by way of example, in the accompanying drawings, in which:
Referring to
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or any other UNICODE character that can be generated on a computer keyboard. The indicia can be formed by printing, etching or any other suitable technique for forming a permanent mark on the top surface of the bridge pin.
To use the message display system, a plurality of bridge pins are selected to create a desired message 1. The selected bridge pins are then inserted into their conventional locations in the bridge 2 to secure the ends of strings 3 in place. The pins are also inserted in the appropriate order to display the desired message across the bridge of the guitar as best shown in
The message display system of the present invention may be made available in a kit form so that owners can modify their guitars as desired. As illustrated in
While specific embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated, such embodiments should be considered illustrative of the invention only and not as limiting the invention as construed in accordance with the accompanying claims.
Claims
1. A message display system for a stringed instrument comprising:
- a plurality of bridge pins, each bridge pin being formed with a top surface marked with indicia, the top surface with indicia being viewable when the bridge pin is installed into a bridge of the instrument, and the bridge pins being arranged to display a message to a viewer.
2. A message display system as claimed in claim 1 in which the indicia comprise letters of the alphabet.
3. A message display system as claimed in claim 1 in which the indicia comprises numbers.
4. A message display system as claimed in claim 1 in which the indicia comprise UNICODE symbols.
5. A message display system as claimed in claim 1 in which the indicia comprise character sets for non-English languages.
6. A kit for displaying a message on a stringed instrument comprising:
- a plurality of bridge pins, each bridge pin being formed with a top surface marked with indicia;
- wherein the bridge pins are installable into a bridge of the instrument by a user to display a desired message by the indicia on the exposed top surfaces of the pins.
7. The kit as claimed in claim 6 in which the indicia are letters of the alphabet, and the kit includes at least one bridge pin marked with each letter of the alphabet.
8. The kit as claimed claim 6 including multiple bridge pins marked with the most common letters of the alphabet.
9. The kit as claimed in claim 6 including a resealable container to retain the pins when not installed in the bridge of the instrument.
10. A method for displaying a message on a stringed instrument comprising:
- providing bridge pins, each bridge pin being formed with a top surface marked with indicia;
- installing one or more bridge pins into a bridge of the instrument such that the top surfaces with indicia are viewable to display a message to a viewer
11. A method for displaying a message on a stringed instrument comprising:
- providing bridge pins, each bridge pin being formed with a top surface marked with indicia;
- selecting one or more bridge pins having indicia appropriate to create a desired message;
- installing the one or more bridge pins into a bridge of the instrument such that the top surfaces with indicia are viewable to display the desired message.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 25, 2006
Publication Date: Jan 31, 2008
Inventor: David Andrew Dunwoodie (Delta)
Application Number: 11/493,499